Germany arrests anti-Islam Saudi in SUV attack

Debris and closed stalls are seen on the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany

Debris and closed stalls are seen on the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany

(Image credit: Ronny Hartmann / AFP / Getty Images)

published 23 December 2024

What happened

German authorities arrested a Saudi psychologist and anti-Islam activist over the weekend, accusing him of a Friday night SUV attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg that left five people dead and more than 200 wounded, 41 of them seriously. Officials acknowledged Sunday they had received warnings from Saudi Arabia about the suspect, identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, and said they were trying to establish a motive for the attack.

Abdulmohsen, a resident of Germany since 2006, had expressed support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and for Elon Musk. Peter Neumann, a German terrorism expert and a professor of security studies at King's College London, said on X that "a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance toward Islamists" is an unusual profile.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.